Pick it up

If you don’t pick something up, you don’t know how heavy it is.

I keep thinking about this. The weight of shame and those people who choose not to pick it up. We are all victims and victimisers in a racist system. Some feel it everyday in every part of their body and some are completely blind and untouched.

We are all hurting. Yes in very different ways and by no means do I pretend to know the pain of being a person of colour, but racism hurts us all. If you don’t take this time to think, listen, talk, read, learn, explore, challenge, you will miss out and you will also remain part of the problem. None of us cannot afford you to stay silent. Yes it is awkward and if you are white you might be worried about saying the wrong thing, but that is a small price to pay, part of the long overdue relearning and it is also your privilege.

Resmaa Menakem‘s language and approach to racism and trauma really speaks to me.

“Creating community and a somatically attuned life helped me achieve positivity while challenging my own limitations around race and trauma.  I want to inspire my community and humanity to acknowledge their “white-body supremacy trauma” and find pathways to heal. I want to help you metabolize the decontextualized internalized “white body supremacy” energy to create fuel for freedom.”

We must all be antiracist. Investigate what this looks like for yourself- this work is for you, for me, for everyone. Things cannot go back to the way they were and change is an action. It takes effort and movement and if you are sitting still and looking the other way, you are dragging us all behind. If you don’t know where to start, read our newsletter and check out some of the leaders like Ibram X Kendi, Resmaa Menakem, Robin Diangelo and many more.

This is close to my heavy heart.